And Just Like That, I Quit

I have never had the most impeccable timing when it comes to life-altering decisions, I will admit. I either overthink myself into immobility or I jump without looking at the terrain below. There aren’t really a whole lot of in-betweens with me. I can rationalize things to death and then never act on them. Or I can do things like I did on Monday.

I woke up and quit my job.

The act itself was kind of rash but I knew last Wednesday, I was going to do it. I just needed to wait for Angie to come back from Texas to make sure we were on the same page. Luckily, we were.

Three years ago, I attempted to quit this same job. As I was rereading my posts from that timeframe (here, here, and here), one word kept coming to mind. Coward. I told everyone that I was unhappy with my job, that I felt as if I was no longer making a meaningful contribution, and that I was going to quit and try making a go in the freelance world. I really did turn in my resignation on October 21, 2016 but that very same day, I accepted a restructuring of my responsibilities into a part-time position instead.

I justified staying in the way that most of us do when we talk ourselves out of things – I convinced myself that 1) the timing wasn’t right, 2) we didn’t have enough money saved, and 3) we needed the benefits. Yep, none of that was any more or less true than it is today or the day before or will be three days from tomorrow. It is and was just an excuse.

This time, I quit for a lot of reasons. Every single one of them the same as they were 3 years ago. But mostly, I quit because I couldn’t wait any longer to get started living the life we have imagining for ourselves.

When I wrote A Sno-Ball’s Chance, we had set a financial goal for ourselves to save enough to pay our living expenses for an additional 3 months (we already have 6) before I resigned and to secure at least one permanent side hustle or writing gig. Over the past few weeks, we’ve worked (nearly non-stop) to jumpstart our plan. Even while Angie was in Texas, she was hustling. She painted a barn! In just a short amount of time, I’m happy to say that we have already exceeded our goal! We have an extra 3 months of general expenses saved and 5 months of grocery money. On top of that, I have secured 2 permanent gigs and have 2 others pending.

Leaving a secure job is SCARY! I will not deny that. Nor will I say that it’s not a little crazy too, especially when you are not in a position to fully retire. But you know what else it is? It’s EXCITING!

I have one more month of meetings and deadlines before everything I do is on my own schedule. One more month before success or failure rests solely on our shoulders. And frankly, I can’t wait!

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